I hate progress

I hate progress.

Every morning, I stop by the Daily’s 6606 for two of my essential food groups: a fountain Diet Coke and a Virginia Slims menthol purse pack. Jessica is always there to greet me. I don’t even have to tell her what I’m getting. She knows.

So King Daddy and I were in shock this morning when we saw a sign posted to the door. Daily’s is closing the store. They are going to demolish it and build a Twice Daily, which is basically a convenience store on steroids. Yes, you can get Christie Cookies at the other Twice Daily locations. You can get raw vegetables and ranch dressing in cute little plastic containers. You can get cheeseburgers. At 6606, it was all about the Slim Jim’s and Cheetos.

Jessica 2

But the greatest loss is that they are moving Jessica to another store. Every morning, we would discuss recipes. She would casually toss off the fact that she was making homemade tamales when she got off. Or mussels steamed in white wine. Or Baked Alaska. She would ask about Dammit Boy every day. In fact, when Noah left for Monterey, he made it a point to stop in at 6606 to say goodbye to Jessica.

Sometimes our conversations went on so long that I had to keep letting the people behind me check out so we could keep talking. And when a rude customer left the store, we’d talk trash about him. Probably not in the Daily’s employee manual but neither were the occasional free refills.

I get very attached to the people I interact with constantly. There’s Rhonda at Little Brothers Shell, my Diet Coke stop when I’m heading north instead of South. There’s Stephany and Cress at Joey’s House of  Pizza, where I eat weekly. There’s Bruce at The Butcher Block, the finest butcher in all the world. And there’s Laima at my beloved Publix, who anchors the self checkout and would speak Russian with Noah to help him not lose the language until he got to Middlebury.

So the fact that I will get warm Christie chocolate chip cookies and individual-sized fruit cups when the new Twice Daily opens means nothing to me. I want my Slim Jims. And Jessica.

Jessica 1




2 Comments

  1. Rosemary
    RosemaryReply
    February 1, 2016 at 5:27 pm

    I know you will miss your sweet friend! You are the real deal and I love your blog.
    Just wanted to let you know I am still getting requests to make more of your buttery pecans since making and sharing during the holidays. Goodness, they are divine.
    Have you thought about what you are going to give up for Lent? I usually try to add something as well as give up something. Last year I added getting more sleep for 40 days and gave up fried everything. I was a fun wife for 40 days and nights. Lol

    • Catherine Mayhew
      Catherine MayhewReply
      February 3, 2016 at 4:03 pm

      Love those buttery pecans, too. It’s not the Christmas season until I make a batch. I haven’t figured out Lent, yet. I usually give up hamburgers because I adore them. Never wine!

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